Omaha Road Bridge Number 15
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| Omaha Road Bridge #15 | |
 The south end of the bridge, showing the concrete "bobtail". |
|
| Carries | One track of the Union Pacific Railroad |
|---|---|
| Crosses | Mississippi River |
| Locale | St. Paul, Minnesota |
| Maintained by | Union Pacific Railroad |
| ID number | 15 |
| Design | Swing bridge |
| Longest span | 185 feet |
| Total length | 1055 feet |
| Width | One track |
| Clearance below | 22 feet |
| Opening date | 1916 |
| Coordinates | |
Omaha Road Bridge Number 15 is a swing bridge that spans the Mississippi River in St. Paul, Minnesota. It was built in 1916 by the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway and was designed by I.F. Stern of Chicago. The bridge is an unusual shape, because the swing span is asymmetrical. The original bridge design had equal length spans on either side of the center pivot. Once the bridge was completed, the owner of the property on the south side of the river did not want the swing span crossing his land. In response, the owner removed most of the south end of the swing span and added a concrete shell to balance out the weight of the north end of the swing span. The concrete shell is called a "bobtail".
An earlier bridge in this location, built in 1869, was a wooden Howe truss design. This was one of the original 15 bridges spanning the Mississippi River. The first bridge was an 8-span drawbridge, but much of the superstructure had to be replaced in 1877 because of decay in the original pine chords.
| Bridges of the Mississippi River | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Upstream Lexington Bridge  |
Omaha Road Bridge Number 15 |
Downstream Smith Avenue High Bridge  |
|
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Costello, Mary Charlotte (2002). Climbing the Mississippi River Bridge by Bridge, Volume Two: Minnesota. Cambridge, MN: Adventure Publications. ISBN 0-9644518-2-4.
 This article about a building or structure in Minnesota is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
